The Congress on Monday dismissed the President’s address to the joint session of Parliament as hollow rhetoric, much like Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election speeches, as the real concerns of the people were not addressed.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said: “What the Prime Minister says outside was repeated by the President in Parliament. Real issues were not addressed. There was no account of promises made by the government in the past. The address didn’t reflect on vital concerns like unemployment. There was no mention of the promise of doubling farmers’ income. It was like the government exposing its own failures.”

Many Congress leaders pointed out the omission of China, Pakistan and implications of Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. They wondered how the government avoided laying out a clear road map for economic recovery and mentioning the havoc that the second wave of Covid-19 played with the masses. They said the government picked issues to suit its propaganda.

Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari tweeted: “President’s Address: Not a word on China, Pakistan — the two-front situation. No regret on massacre of civilians in Nagaland. No announcement on restoring statehood of Jammu & Kashmir. Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, its terror implications on India obfuscated. No apology for deaths in second Covid wave.”

The Modi government has otherwise been obsessed with foreign affairs, hawking the Prime Minister’s success in raising India’s stature in the international community. But this address by the President was evasive on foreign affairs, referring to rescue operations in Afghanistan instead of strategic national security concerns and giving a complete miss to Pakistan. There was no mention of Chinese aggression either.

Some Congress leaders argued that the government’s focus on India’s future in 2047 indicated it had little to offer in terms of solutions to the burning issues of economic slide, unemployment and foreign affairs.

Other Opposition parties also criticised the speech as hollow, bereft of any vision or direction. They felt the government was running out of ideas and was interested only in misleading the nation.

The Congress also attacked the government for lack of substance in the Economic Survey. Former finance minister P. Chidambaram said: “The Economic Survey repeats ad nauseum that at the end of 2021-22 the economy would have recovered to the pre-pandemic level (2019-20). The two years have impoverished people: millions of jobs have been lost; 84% households have suffered loss of income; 4.6 crore have been pushed into poverty; India ranks 104 out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index. In plain language, it means that on 31.3.2022 the GDP will be at the same level as it was on 31-3-2020. It means that it has taken two years to go back to where we were on 31-3-2020.”